What results did the World Tourism Fair bring?

While the last edition was “still a bit half-hearted”The World Tourism Fair (SMT), which closed its doors last night, at the Porte de Versailles in Paris, took place in “ good atmosphere » sums up its director Marianne Chandernagor.

The final report should show a traffic of more than 66,000 records recorded in 2023said TourMaG at noon yesterday, the average age of visitors is 59 years.

If more than 400 French and foreign destinations were represented, some were present for the first time, starting with Easter Island whose traditional dances were very successful.

OF more “newbies”THE green capLSaint-Martin Tourist Office, Rodrigues, Djibouti, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo AND several Balkan countries.

This show also tagged return from the islands of Guadeloupe, first included believer. For example, Peru, more worries than ever “restore trust”after a political crisis followed by a health crisis that hit its tourism industry last year.

“The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs lifted its restrictions“, welcomed Rosario Pajuelo Escobar, the French director of PromPerù, at the colorful stand, which also highlighted her country’s products and crafts. “And here the public welcomed us very warmly”.

As part of its new 360-degree promotional campaign, the so-called “Gentlemen “, Peru particularly highlights the little-known region of Huaraz, the capital of the department of Áncash, less than an hour’s flight north of Lima.

“From July 1st there will be a direct flight from Latam,” stressed Rosario Pajuelo Escobar, impatient to make known this region that was the cradle of civilization Chavin de Huantar. one of the oldest civilizations in South America.

The eponymous city, located at an altitude of 3177 meters at the foot of snow-capped mountains exceeding 5000 meters, once controlled trade routes west to the Pacific Ocean through two passes in the Cordillera Blanca and east to the Amazon. The discoverable “gem” that is undoubtedly worth the famous Machu Picchu is today a bit of a victim of its success…

from his side, The Destinations Nature Fair, which joined Marianne Chandernagor’s portfolio in 2015 and takes place on the same dates as the World Tourism Fair, also showed good attendance yesterday.

“Train travel is becoming very popular among young people. This is in line with environmental awareness and also – for those who book in advance – with reduced budgets. Marianne Chandernagor confided in TourMaG.

However, at the time of balancing, it is advisable not to stick to the attendance figures of this program. Indeed, among the pros interviewed by TourMag, many agree in saying that “b (budgets are more limited “. A ” small budgets » (between 500 and 1000 euros) are less numerous, if they have not completely disappeared, the most modest have to forego travel to cope with the higher costs of daily living.

At the beginning of February, in an interview for TourMaG, Didier Arino from Protourisme announced, “The holiday, whatever it may be, is well and truly over.” This World Tourism Championship confirms this.

Also read: Budget dedicated to summer vacation decreased by 7%

In a context where prices for air transport, but also for all travel, have continued to rise, Didier Arino now estimates a drop in the average holiday budget to 7% in 2024. It also assumes a small rate drop. commercial stays this summer) amounting to 2%.

If these declines weren’t already quite evident on SMT, the warning signs were there.. “The gaps are widening,” Marianne Chandernagor, director of Mondial du Tourisme, observed for her part.

“There are more people who have less than €1,000 to spend than before (38% instead of 29% last year). At the same time, there are also more people who have more than EUR 3,000 to spend. Last year they were 9%, this year it is 14%.detailed Marianne Chandernagor before confiding in TourMaG The “TOP 5” most desired destinations: first Italy, then Japan in second place, followed by Spain, the United States and finally Thailand.

At the Salaün Holidays stand, Bertrand Gaillard, network coordinator for Paris, Hauts-de-France and Normandy, agreed: “We have been at SMT for ten years. 2024 will not be the best edition we have done. There are people, but next to peak times, times are slow. And the bookings are a little below our expectations ».

Bertrand Gaillard notes that there is “ fewer visitors who come with a very small budget. “Our sales start between €1,200 and €1,700 per week. At the same time, the number of visitors who have money and are having fun is also increasing. It used to be very rare to see budgets rise to €12,000 for two. This week we sold Seychelles tours at this price.

Salaün Holidays ended up being great successes. First, the confirmation of Uzbekistan as the flagship for 2024. Next up are the two challengers, Sri Lanka and because “People want safety”– Italy : especially with Puglia, Tuscany, Rome…..

Italy, Greece and Croatia, but also Albania, Montenegro, Madagascar and Vietnam held the rope on the stand Fram where Sarra Guediri, sales representative, welcomed “good welcome” wanted by the public “new things”, of ” new destinations“, of “lots of circuits”– and above all very happy to find” cheaper offer than competitors ».No wonder, because according to Sarah Guediri, among the many visitors to the Fram booth were “lots of very small budgets”.

Apart from prices, according to Sara Guediri, it would be Fram’s main asset “its small groups that are in high demand. »Indeed, she emphasized: we opened a lot of small group tours. For example, in Japan, a maximum of ten people“.

“I sell everything in Greece. Absolutely everything. In Sicily mostly club hotels. Stays in Montenegro, Albania, Croatia. Tours to Mexico and cruises on the Nile are also very popular. Japan is also doing well here. However, it is priced from €3,499 and easily exceeds €5,000.further clarified by Sarra Guediri.

Egypt was “highly sought after” also – followed by the United States, Costa Rica, Thailand – at Aya Désirs du Monde, the agency hosted on the stand Traveling at crossroads.

” We worked a lot on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the clientele was more indecisive », remarked Cyril Dupin on his side at the stand of the Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten.

“Many visitors are on tight budgets and the general geopolitical context is not helping. Nor the economic context” remarked Cyril Dupin.

The economy of Germany, a country where the Norwegian cruise line is very present, is now prey to alarming anemia (its GDP will decrease by 0.3% in 2023), the war in Ukraine will never end no, the situation in the Middle East is not improving.

“The future seems uncertain to many. This explains why, as at the recent Lyon show, we sometimes have difficulty finalizing quotations despite reminders. In the extraordinary year 2023 a more difficult year 2024 could follow “, Cyril Dupin predicted.

Also read: Hurtigruten presents its zero-emission vessel “Sea Zero”

“We are also increasingly questioned about the impact of our activities on the environment”, he continued. Fortunately, Norway has a pretty good image in this regard.

However, Hurtigruten is selling 80% of its cruises in Norway to the French public this year as well. Activity “expedition” that it is developing remains less known to the French public, although, as Cyril Dupin noted, the Norwegian company has been organizing expedition cruises in Antarctica since… 2002.